Oh Noes! The Cyber Police

Beginning with Howard Berger’s bittersweet commentary on our little corner of the web and and piquing tonight with a grade A case of trolling from a user that’s been taken care of, let me make a quick note about moderation.

Firstly, it’s important to remember that our willingness to allow for freewheeling and largely unrestricted conversation gives MLHS commenters a privilege, not a right. Unfortunately, in a few instances I’m beginning to see this being taken advantage of.

Being intentionally vulgar is not theÂ way to stick it to Howard Berger. We are getting noticed not only for the efforts and insights the blogging team brings to the table but for the breadth of Leafs knowledge among our users, backed by a strong sense of community. Pension Plan Puppets‘ sports bar analogy was a good one and I similarly am not going to nitpick at every curse word – if this is how a poster opts to express himself and it’s within reasonable limits, I’m not going to ask anybody to change the manner or mood in which they want to communicate their thoughts. Unfiltered dialogue helps create the virtual club house I spoke about striving for in an interview last summer, where fans can relax and chat with a passionate crew who have something informed to say about their favourite sport and team.Â What is absolutely unacceptable is personal attacks, allowing of course for some friendly banter about Jordan’s grammar.

I accept some blame for past and recent events as I’ve not been around as often as I should be, and the lack of presence has allowed a few situations to spiral out of control that preferably would’ve been nipped in the bud. I will be increasing the moderating presence in the sense that we need to get more eyes on the scene – all bloggers will be granted full moderating privileges and have my full authority to act on any personal attacks and inappropriate links or content. Most of you don’t need to hear it and are guilty of nothing but consider this your warning on those fronts. More than likely it will be a few posters who first see the inappropriate or offensive content before the bloggers, so it’s always important to remember the following principle:

I still want the MLHS user to be the main moderator and to remind everyone of the self-policing based in a general respect for each other and the site that made this community so great in its first two years. Opinions can exist that differ from your own. Point out where you think Andrew R the other guy is wrong but do it respectfully. The best part is that it’s now September, and the rookie and training camps and pre-season are around the corner and this should help everyone get back to their true love and focus.

Derek Harmsworth will be providing in-depth, insider access to to the rookie tournament including post-game quotes and interviews. Gus is attending the NHL rookie showcase and will have an exclusive with Nazem Kadri. And as a side note, the Maple Leafs Annual should now be available wherever magazines are sold in southern Ontario and in Chapters across Canada. Back to the Leafs.

Alec Brownscombe is the founder of MapleLeafsHotStove.com, where he has written daily about the Leafs since September of 2008. He was also the editor of the 2009-12 Maple Leafs Annuals. You can contact him at [email protected]